Kermit Sheets
Encyclopedia
Louis Kermit Sheets was an actor, director, playwright and an artistic partner with poet James Broughton
.
near Waldport, Oregon
where he became part of a gifted group of artists, writers, and performers.
In 1943 he was one of the founders of the Untide Press
, which attempted to bring poetry to the public in an inexpensive but attractive format. Co-founders were writer William Everson
, editor William Eshelman
and architect and printer Kemper Nomland
.
He became a close fried of Kemper Nomland. Both men shared interest in graphical design, illustration and publication layout, although Sheets was primarily interested in theater and Norland in architecture.
Some members of this group formed a repertory known as the Interplayers after the war. Led by Sheets, the group produced and performed plays in various theaters until they obtained a home in a champagne warehouse in North Beach, San Francisco.
The press published and distributed poetry and drama by Broughton, Anaïs Nin
, Madeline Gleason
and Muriel Rukeyser
.
Robert Duncan
was one of the founders of the San Francisco Renaissance along with Kenneth Rexroth
. His Medieval Scenes linked sequence of poems is a classic. The Centaur Press volume was designed by Kermit Skeets, who created the title page woodcut, and was hand set in Centaur Roman and Frederic Goudy
's Deepdene italic.
Sheets commissioned Adrian Wilson
to print Glen Coffield
's The Night is Where you Fly, illustrated by Lee Mullican
.
The Pleasure Garden was nominated for a BAFTA award and won the Best Fantastic-Poetic Film award at Cannes. British actor and later director Lindsay Anderson
was among the cast members. Returning from Europe in 1955, Sheets became managing director of the San Francisco Playhouse, a position he held until the early 1960s. In 1965 Kermit married Jane Steckle, who was to be his partner for the next 34 years. Sheets was director of the Center at the Lighthouse for the Blind from 1970 to 1980.
Sheets and Broughton co-directed the experimental short film The Golden Positions (1971), a meditation on and catalog of the human body in all its positions and activities.
He continued to write novels and short stories after retiring.
Kermit Sheets died on 6 April 2006.
A collections of his work and memorabilia is preserved by the Lewis & Clark College
in Portland, Oregon.
James Broughton
James Broughton was an American poet, and poetic filmmaker. He was part of the San Francisco Renaissance...
.
World War II
During World War II, Sheets served as a conscientious objector for four years in Camp AngelCamp Angel
Camp Angel was Civilian Public Service camp number 56, one of many camps across the United States where conscientious objectors were given unpaid jobs of "national importance" as a substitute for World War II military service....
near Waldport, Oregon
Waldport, Oregon
Waldport is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,050 at the 2000 census. The city is located on the Alsea River and Alsea Bay, south of Newport and north of Yachats.-Geography:...
where he became part of a gifted group of artists, writers, and performers.
In 1943 he was one of the founders of the Untide Press
Untide Press
The Untide Press, founded in 1943, attempted to bring poetry to the public in an inexpensive but attractive format.It was founded by writer William Everson, architect and printer Kemper Nomland, actor Kermit Sheets and editor / librarian William Eshelman, in a camp of conscientious objectors in...
, which attempted to bring poetry to the public in an inexpensive but attractive format. Co-founders were writer William Everson
William Everson
William Everson , also known as Brother Antoninus, was an American poet of the San Francisco Renaissance and was also a literary critic and small press printer.-Beginnings:Everson was born in Sacramento, California...
, editor William Eshelman
William Robert Eshelman
William Robert Eshelman was an American pacifist, editor and librarian. He was active in causes such as preventing censorship, ending racial segregation and stopping the Vietnam war, while gaining distinction in his professional career.-Career:...
and architect and printer Kemper Nomland
Kemper Nomland
Kemper Nomland Jr. was a modernist architect in Los Angeles, California and part of a father-son architectural team with his father Kemper Nomland. He was also a painter and printer of poetry and arts publications....
.
He became a close fried of Kemper Nomland. Both men shared interest in graphical design, illustration and publication layout, although Sheets was primarily interested in theater and Norland in architecture.
Some members of this group formed a repertory known as the Interplayers after the war. Led by Sheets, the group produced and performed plays in various theaters until they obtained a home in a champagne warehouse in North Beach, San Francisco.
Centaur Press
Sheets founded Centaur Press in San Francisco in 1949 working with James Broughton.The press published and distributed poetry and drama by Broughton, Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author, based at first in France and later in the United States, who published her journals, which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death, her erotic literature, and short stories...
, Madeline Gleason
Madeline Gleason
Madeline Gleason was a United States poet and dramatist. She is often credited with the founding of the Poetry Center at San Francisco State University...
and Muriel Rukeyser
Muriel Rukeyser
Muriel Rukeyser was an American poet and political activist, best known for her poems about equality, feminism, social justice, and Judaism...
.
Robert Duncan
Robert Duncan (poet)
Robert Duncan was an American poet and a student of H.D. and the Western esoteric tradition who spent most of his career in and around San Francisco. Though associated with any number of literary traditions and schools, Duncan is often identified with the poets of the New American Poetry and Black...
was one of the founders of the San Francisco Renaissance along with Kenneth Rexroth
Kenneth Rexroth
Kenneth Rexroth was an American poet, translator and critical essayist. He is regarded as a central figure in the San Francisco Renaissance, and paved the groundwork for the movement...
. His Medieval Scenes linked sequence of poems is a classic. The Centaur Press volume was designed by Kermit Skeets, who created the title page woodcut, and was hand set in Centaur Roman and Frederic Goudy
Frederic Goudy
Frederic W. Goudy was a prolific American type designer whose typefaces include Copperplate Gothic, Kennerley, and Goudy Old Style. He also designed, in 1938, University of California Oldstyle, for the sole proprietary use of the University of California Press...
's Deepdene italic.
Sheets commissioned Adrian Wilson
Adrian Wilson (book designer)
Adrian Wilson was an influential book designer, and author of the classic 1967 work entitled The Design of Books.In 1983, he was an early recipient of a MacArthur Foundation award.-External links:** at The Bancroft Library...
to print Glen Coffield
Glen Coffield
Glen Coffield was an American poet and conscientious objector. He was born in Prescott, Arizona, and received a B.S. degree in education from Central Missouri State Teachers College in 1940...
's The Night is Where you Fly, illustrated by Lee Mullican
Lee Mullican
Lee Mullican was a painter and art teacher, and an influential member of the Dynaton Movement. He was a member of the UCLA art faculty from 1962 to 1990. He married Luchita Hurtado; their son Matt Mullican is a New York City based artist; their son John Mullican is a Los Angeles based writer and...
.
Film and theater
Kermit Sheets acted in the short films Loony Tom (1951), The Pleasure Garden (1953) and The Bed (1968), all directed by James Broughton.The Pleasure Garden was nominated for a BAFTA award and won the Best Fantastic-Poetic Film award at Cannes. British actor and later director Lindsay Anderson
Lindsay Anderson
Lindsay Gordon Anderson was an Indian-born, British feature film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave...
was among the cast members. Returning from Europe in 1955, Sheets became managing director of the San Francisco Playhouse, a position he held until the early 1960s. In 1965 Kermit married Jane Steckle, who was to be his partner for the next 34 years. Sheets was director of the Center at the Lighthouse for the Blind from 1970 to 1980.
Sheets and Broughton co-directed the experimental short film The Golden Positions (1971), a meditation on and catalog of the human body in all its positions and activities.
He continued to write novels and short stories after retiring.
Kermit Sheets died on 6 April 2006.
A collections of his work and memorabilia is preserved by the Lewis & Clark College
Lewis & Clark College
Lewis & Clark College is a private institution of higher learning located in Portland, Oregon. Made up of an undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, a School of Law, and a Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Lewis & Clark is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges with athletic...
in Portland, Oregon.